


get to me on my morningside

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-30
Updated: 2010-01-30
Packaged: 2019-01-19 23:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Sometimes, Lysander just wants to be someone else. Then he meets her. Lily. And she's all he needs to keep going. Next Gen.: Ly/Lily. Challange fic for -the smell of autumn- on FFN.





	get to me on my morningside

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

_And this makes all the difference_  
This changes everything  
Making our whole existence  
Worth something so we sing

Some days, Lysander Scamander just wants to turn all the water on in the Prefect's Bathroom, jump in, and not swim to save himself. He knows he's crazy those days, but he never follows through; he knows better. But sometimes, stress's one of those things that makes him crazy and want to do irrational things. He is sick way too often for it not to be a problem—always with the flu, whether it was season for it or not. Many a peer often send him pity looks, but they weren't thinking what the look implied. _We're so glad_ we're _not a Head if this is the outcome,_ are their thoughts. Not only does he have to deal with Head duties, he is trying to stay top of his class, find a girl, and keep friendships going—but, usually, Head and future plans and homework and _everything_ just get in his way. Why they hell do the Seventh Years need a _quote_? And why does _he_ have to pick it? Shouldn't the Seventh Years have a say in the matter? Lorcan tries the best he could to keep him going, but sometimes it wasn't enough—he is a burnt out Muggle light bulb that needs replacing, and the other bulb that should keep the lamp lite had shattered ages ago. Mary isn't a help at all; it isn't that she doesn't do her necessary parts—she just stops when her part are done. She doesn't do anything extra; she doesn't dock points when needed, doesn't try to stop inner-House rivalry, doesn't do anything that would make Lysander's life any easier.

Sometimes Lysander just wants to be someone else. And then he meets her. Lily.

He meets her the holiday of Seventh Year, at her dad's annual Christmas party. He knows her—she is a year below him, in Hufflepuff. She's pretty, with her red bob and vintage glasses, and is the kind of quirky girl that everyone liked, but no one got close to. They become close that holiday; he finds whatever excuse to visit her at her house—studying for exams together (disregarding the fact they haven't the same exam), and she helps him with over-the-holiday Head duties. She helps him narrow down Seventh Year quotes, and mascots, and the like; he helps her with her Charms homework that have her close to failing, and "cleaning" her room. (Cleaning definition: _adj_. 1. shoving everything under the bed; 2. Vanishing anything unwanted; 3. lying on the bed and talking.) They get too close, so fast. Soon, they're back at school, and he has an even busier schedule, and Lily seems to be pushed up on his list of priorities, to number one. They discuss everything under the Sun—the Wars, favorite things, what they wanted to do after school (Lysander wants to teach; Lily's after a Healing position). Lorcan likes Lily off the bat; she was cousins with his girlfriend, Lucy, and he seemed to approve. Lysander and his brother weren't the closest, but Ly appreciated his approval.

And, too soon, Lysander is graduating and leaving Lily. They spend the summer before her Seventh Year together, and they don't go more than two days without the other. It is slightly embarrassing; James, Lily's old brother, seven years her senior, spreads rumors around the family of their so-called soon not-to-be "platonic" relationship. Lysander disregards half-heatedly the rumors and continues with trying to forget about the fact that Lily's return to Hogwarts was approaching too fast for his lasting. They spend their last days watching old reruns, and visiting the theatre, and avoiding the outside world.

When Lily does return to school, after being sent off by Lysander (and her parents, but not really), he spends the days counting down to the last Hogsmeade visit. They exchange countless letters, and Lily complains to him about her basically friendless life; sure, she had some friends, but none were as close as her and Lysander. Lysander recounts stories to her, and eventually sends her a two-way mirror he found in a vintage store. So, when they talk, he finds himself memorizes every inch of her face, and the way she plays with her hair when she talks, and he counts the freckles on her nose. Once, one of Lily's teachers had to take her mirror away due to her "talking to someone during class."

Three months into the school year, they have their first Hogsmeade visit. Lysander hopes to surprise her there, holding flowers, and waits all day for her to come, and see him, and maybe fall into his arms, and they could, maybe, just _maybe_ start dating. Because, sometimes, Lysander finds himself having less than platonic thoughts about his more-than-a-best-friend-not-quite-a-girlfriend. He imagines how he could make her blush deeper (before stopping himself), wonders if she felt even slightly how he felt about her. But she never shows, and Lysander looks like a fool at the Three Broomsticks, saving a seat for someone who was stuck in the Hospital Wing all day with a flu. He reprimands himself for getting his hopes up, and instead waits until holiday of her Seventh Year to see her again.

When Lily gets off the Hogwarts Express that Christmas, she sees him standing a bit out-of-the-way, and she notes his lopsided grin, the way his eyes shines at her, the way he held up the roses higher when he sees her. Instead of accepting them, she runs at him, jumps into his arms, and kisses the lips off of the boy. He responds with just as much enthusiasm for their new-found, favorite activity, and is not surprised to find that they spend the rest of the holiday doing just that.

Sometimes Lysander just wants to be someone else. And then he meets her. Lily. And she's all he needs to keep going.


End file.
